ARTICLES ABOUT FIREFIGHTERS BY DATE - PAGE 4

Palm Beach County firefighter/paramedic Joe Nieves has another title to add to his colorful resume: Tattoo Titan. The Pembroke Pines resident recently won CMT's newest ink reality competition, "Tattoo Titans. " Nieves, who works at Twisted Heart Tattoo in Hollywood, out-inked three other artists during design challenges on "human canvases. " Nieves won $10,000 and bragging rights. "All my fellow co-workers are joking around calling me Tattoo Titan," said Nieves, 43, who is based out of Lantana for the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.

Wayne Ware, an Air Force veteran who served 25 years with the Lauderhill Fire-Rescue Department, has died. Mr. Ware, 55, died Friday in his Hollywood home, said his wife, Barby Ware. The cause was lung cancer, which was diagnosed about five years ago. When he learned of his illness, he had advanced stage four cancer, she said. "We're very strong Christians so we know by God's grace he lived five whole years," she said. "He wasn't afraid to die because he knew he was going to go. He had a close relationship with God. He loved being a firefighter, but he was about God first.

Firefighters extinguishing a vehicle fire Saturday found a body in the driver's seat, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office news release. About 5:50 a.m., Palm Beach County Fire Rescue was dispatched to the vehicle fire on State Road 80, east of Connors Highway, about 16 miles east of Belle Glade. Firefighters found the body in the driver's seat "burned beyond recognition," Sheriff's Office spokesman Eric Davis said. The body's identity is pending a DNA analysis and has been taken to the Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy, Davis said.

Boca Raton has been denied $157,450 it says was spent defending itself from a lawsuit a longtime firefighter filed contesting his firing. Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Janis Brustares Keyser ruled last week Capt. James Muro's suit - which has been dismissed - was not a frivolous one filed in bad faith, so the city was not entitled to court costs or the money spent defending itself against the suit. Muro, who worked for the city for 21 years, said he was pleased with the judge's order.

An Orange County firefighter allegedly admitted to painting a confederate flag on his county-owned fire ax, which was found at an African American's burning home, reports WFTV ABC News-9 in Orlando. The firefighter told investigators he did it to "touch up" the ax and stated the flag signified his small town roots and core values of family and hard work, according to the report. Did anybody get the ax? Get the DUHtails at WFTV ABC News-9 in Orlando. More FloriDUH

Before the deadline to qualify for the mayoral race hit on Friday, Boca Raton's police and firefighter unions picked their choice for March 11: Anthony Majhess. Majhess, a former city employee currently working as a Palm Beach County firefighter, was chosen over Deputy Mayor Susan Haynie after union members from both police and fire held town hall-style meetings with both candidates shortly after the new year. “Both the firefighters of Boca Raton and the Boca Raton police feel that Majhess is the best choice for mayor because of his understanding and commitment to maintaining world class public safety services,” a prepared joint statement from the unions read.

Firefighters responded to the scene of a large fire at a mulch landscaping business Sunday evening, officials said. The fire at 4700 SW 82 n d Ave. began around 5 p.m. at a landscaping company that encompasses a 10-acre lot covered in piles of mulch, said Davie Police Department spokesman Capt. Dale Engle. Firefighters anticipated that it could take 24 to 48 hours to extinguish the blaze because of the type and size of the fire, said Engle. "It's under control but because of the nature of the fire it's going to take some time for them to get it extinguished," said the spokesman.

Commissioners approved a two-year contract with firefighters on Wednesday night. Raises of 2.5 percent across the board for rank-and-file city fire employees doled out over the next two fiscal years will cost $273,000. The new contract replaces one that lasted less than a year, which was approved in January but ended Sept. 30 because the union did not ratify it. The salary increases, the main change between this contract and the old one, led to the ratification, said Mayor John Adornato.

Miami-Dade firefighter Jimmy Muino received a written reprimand Monday for not telling his supervisors about a traffic accident he had last year in Hallandale Beach. Muino, an ex-Hallandale Beach cop, was charged with an improper U-turn instead of a hit-and-run after a sergeant discovered a former colleague was behind the wheel. Sgt. Paul Winters, who helped train Muino as a rookie cop, was fired nine months after the June 2012 accident. Muino's supervisors learned of the incident after a story appeared in the Sun Sentinel in March.

A Delray Beach home suffered extensive damage, leaving nine people displaced, when a fire broke out Wednesday night, officials said. A dog in the home that was initially found "lethargic" was tended to by firefighters and then returned to its owners, according to Delray Beach Fire-Rescue. Crews were called to the home along the 500 block of Coral Way in the Delray Shores community shortly before 9 p.m. and were able to knock down the flames within ten minutes, according to an email from Captain Kevin Saxton.